1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to mechanical devices for removing the tassels from corn plants, and more specifically, to a control system for automatically adjusting the vertical position of such devices relative to the height of the corn plants being detasseled.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Various types of mechanical corn detasseling devices are known in the art, and these devices are becoming more common in replacing the manual removal of tassels. Although most mechanical detasselers operate satisfactorily in removing tassels when the corn plants are substantially uniform in height, many of them are ineffective to efficiently remove tassels from corn plants of varying heights.
The most common means presently employed for handling corn plants of varying heights comprise vertically adjustable detasseling devices that are powered for up or down movement in response to a manual control by the operator of the detasseling implement. However, the effectiveness of such manual control is directly dependent upon driving abilities and alertness of the operator. As a result, detasseling takes place at a reduced rate of the speed corresponding to the operator's reaction time in manually adjusting the detasseling devices.
Thus, a need exists for an automatic detasseling apparatus that is vertically adjusted automatically relative to the varying heights of the corn plants encountered. A Canadian Pat. No. 778,092 discloses an automatic height adjusting control for a single cutting bar of a combine that operates in response to variations in crop height, but such control is not satisfactory for a detasseling implement having a plurality of detasseling devices that must simultaneously operate upon corn plants of varying heights in adjacent rows.